Glass and felt from Kimmie

I added these guys to my etsy store last week, I think they are so happy! It will be challenging to figure out how to display such tiny animals at shows, but I have a few ideas.
Speaking of shows, set your calendar because I will be appearing at Bead and Button in Milwaukee in June! Joan and I have both sent in entries for their Bead Dreams contest, which Joan WON in the handmade beads category a couple of years ago. Maybe she will post a picture of those prizewinning beads for us. That was an exciting year at B and B; my friend Wayne Robbins and I received the People's Choice award for our collaboration, "The Collector":

He was my first big felted project; creating him really reiterated the importance of having a good stash to draw on! He lives in Palo Alto, California now, in the library of a home up on a hill. I'm sure he is very happy there, but I do kinda miss him sometimes.

**Don't forget to go see Joan at BeadFest Wire this weekend!

-and wish us luck on our Bead Dreams entries for this year...I think we are both going to be superstitious and not post pix till we know if they've been accepted ;-).

Welcome from the West Coast side of the blog

Hi all, Kimmie here,

Thank you Joan for setting up this new blog, we are going to have a lot of fun here sharing our latest work and ideas! I am also hoping that we will be able to get together in person before too long.

I have been working on some new beads this week, adding to my selection of animals based on a small lentil shape. My current favorite? The frog, seen above. I think the belly button adds a lot but don't always remember to stick it in there. The guy on the left seems to be wondering why his buddy doesn't have one!

I already have bunny rabbits, sheep, cows and ladybugs on my roster, and along with the frogs have added penguins and baby chicks. More to come, for sure. I love this concept, and these little beads look great in bunches. How small are they? The base lentil shape is about 10mm, a bit smaller than an M&M candy. Sweet!

My focus has been on a springtime theme, not counting the penguin, but if you have an animal suggestion or request, please post a comment and I will try to make it.

It has been a super productive week for me, and I look forward to sharing pictures of my latest work, including a pretty cool new project...stay tuned!